Penn Township man meant to kill himself, not police, attorney says

A Penn Township man meant to kill himself, not a police officer, when he fired shots during a 2016 standoff, his attorney told jurors Monday.

Defense lawyer Jeff Monzo said Jody Martz, 56, was suffering from four bulging discs in his back, a recent knee replacement and high blood pressure when he turned to alcohol, became enraged with his wife and as many as 10 guests attending a home decorating party before he went into the basement to retrieve a Winchester rifle.

“All that led him to be suicidal. The only person Jody intended to hurt was himself,” Monzo said in his opening statement to jurors during the first day of the Martz’s attempted murder trial before Westmoreland County Judge Scott Mears.

Prosecutors said, on Aug. 31, 2016, Martz fired one round through a wall that struck the uniform of Penn Township patrolman David Noll as Noll and two other officers responded to a domestic call outside the Thomas Street home shortly after 6 p.m. Martz was charged with 16 offenses including attempted murder, aggravated assault against a police officer, witness intimidation and multiple counts of aggravated and simple assault.

Monzo denied that Martz, a nuclear inspector for Westinghouse who had no prior criminal record and was married for 27 years, was in a rage when he fired. Monzo said Martz drank two bottles of vodka as he helped his wife clean the home before her party and later became angry but not violent towards the group of women there.

“He wasn’t intending to hurt or kill a police officer. It was a cry for help. He couldn’t get the guts up to kill himself,” Monzo said.

Noll testified he and two officers responded to the domestic call and cautiously approached the home after they learned Martz’s wife and her friends had fled the residence. Noll said he stood to the side of the front door, knocked and identified himself as a police officer when he was greeted with a rifle shot that burst through the wall. The round shredded the right pocket of his police uniform shirt and severed a chain connected to a whistle.

The rifle blast left his ears ringing for hours and a red mark above his right breast, the likely result of his being struck by debris during the shooting, Noll testified.

“At the moment it was deafening. I felt pressure across my chest,” Noll told jurors. The officer said he did not require medical attention for any injuries.

Police retreated and waited about 20 minutes, after which Martz surrendered, Noll testified.

Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr told jurors that Martz made a conscious decision to fire at police after something his wife said made him angry and caused him to chase her guests around the house before they called police. While in custody shortly after his arrest, Barr said Martz admitted to firing the rifle.

“This case is going to be about choices, intentional, purposeful and conscious choices. …he snapped that day. He went into a rage and hurt people. The last person he hurt was Officer Noll,” Barr said.

More than three years later, in December 2019, while free on bail, Martz confronted and threatened one of the woman from the party who was expected to testify against him at trial, prosecutors contend. He was charged with additional felony counts and returned to jail to await trial.

Court officials said 38 witnesses could testify during the trial, which is expected to take about five days.